Disturbing the Universe
by MandibleBones
Summary: After the Final Battle, five spirits conspire to send Harry back in time. But with Messrs. Moony, Padfoot and Prongs in charge, it was never going to go completely as planned. Ensemble cast.
1. Solemnly Swear We're Still Up To No Good

**Disclaimer:** _Harry Potter and all associated characters belong to the twisted mind of J.K. Rowling and the people publishing her books and making her movies. No rat animagi were harmed during the creation of this fic._

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**Disturbing the Universe**

**Chapter 1: We Solemnly Swear We're Still Up To No Good  
**

Five spirits - not quite ghosts, for they would not imprint on the world so much as watch like teenage boys through the window of the girl's showers - sat atop a bookshelf in the Room of Requirement at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Though they could not be seen by the world outside, to each other, they were very much alive.

A man with black, rebellious hair, obviously the leader of the little group, glanced around at his companions - a shabby, bookworm-looking gentleman, a wild-eyed man with a shaggy, dog-like mane of black hair, a beautiful red-headed woman and a sallow man with black hair falling into curtains over the perpetual scowl on his face. He grinned.

"Messrs. Moony, Padfoot and Prongs welcome their accomplices, the spectacular Lily Potter," he put an arm protectively around the redhead, "and the Greasy Git-OOMPH!" he broke off, having taken an elbow to the side from said redhead. "Ahem," he continued, glaring at his wife, "the spectacular Lily Potter and the talented Severus Snape."

"Snivellus!" coughed the wild-haired man, taking an elbow from the bookworm for his troubles.

"Shut up, Padfoot," Mr. Moony admonished, his face a quiet smile.

"Also Wormtail!" came a soft voice from behind the bookshelf. The spirits looked down to find a tiny rat with a man's voice hiding there. Lily rolled her eyes, Snape's scowl deepened, Mr. Padfoot seemed to glow with rage and Mr. Prongs' face went sheet-white. Mr. Moony, with the calm that could only come from having taught Defense Against the Dark Arts, plucked a copy of Bathilda Bagshot's "A History of Magic" from the bookshelf below and almost absentmindedly dropped the heavy tome behind him. A loud thump was heard, then a squeak, petering out as the spirit lost consciousness.

"Also Wormtail," Mr. Moony agreed. "Please continue, Prongs."

"Ahem," Mr. Prongs continued, shaking his head to clear it. "As you all know, the five of us-"

"Six!" squeaked Mr. Wormtail, past the pain, from behind the bookshelf. Prongs facepalmed and gestured to the group - Snape took this as a cue to add a heavy, hardbound copy of "Advanced Potion-Making" to the pile on top of the rat. Another loud squeak was heard.

"The five of us," Mr. Prongs continued, "Are here to BREAK THE LAWS OF TIME AND SPACE!" With this, Mr. Prongs leaped up, momentarily forgetting he was sitting on a bookshelf, and clattered to the floor. Mr. Padfoot applauded politely. Snape sneered.

"Yes, Potter,"

"Prongs!"

"Whatever. We're aware of that. Why do you think I agreed to come?"

"Because Lily asked and despite your many faults, you're not stupid enough to tell her no twice?" Mr. Moony asked brightly. Mr. Padfoot stopped clapping.

"Yeah, Prongs, why IS Sniv-" He dodged an elbow. "Snape here?" Mr. Prongs climbed back atop the bookshelf.

"Because we needed five spirits for the ritual, and Lily suggested him," he answered amicably.

"But there are six of us!" squeaked Mr. Wormtail.

SMACK! SMACK! "Magical Water Plants of the Mediterranean" and the "Standard Book of Spells, Grade 7," joined the pile on the rat. Mr. Prongs and Mr. Padfoot made a point of looking innocent.

"So!" Mr. Prongs continued, fighting a smile. "Five of us to create the portal to the past, since Harry will no doubt be up here shortly. Five of us to help him change time and kill Voldemort early. Five of us to BREAK THE LAWS OF-" he fell to the floor again. Mr. Padfoot and Snape both looked innocent, caught the look on each others' faces, and paled noticeably.

"Time and space!" Mr. Wormtail wheezed. There was a loud clatter as Lily donated the collected works of Gilderoy Lockheart onto the rat.

"Fine," Snape said, joining Mr. Prongs on the floor. "But I'm not taking a stupid Marauder name."

"Aww," Mr. Padfoot sighed mockingly, joining them. "But 'Batty' fits you so well!" Snape glared.

"Black, I'll kill you," he said menacingly. "I'm serious, I will kill you." Mr. Padfoot snickered.

"No, I'M Sirius!" he cried triumphantly. "OW!" he added, as Mr. Moony, joining the group on the floor, dope-slapped his friend. "And I'm already dead, prat," he added.

"I'll find a way!" Mr. Batty said. I mean, Snape said.

"Life always does," Lily agreed. "And I'm not going by Mrs. Prongs for the rest of my... well, whatever," she added. "No offense, dear," she added, smiling sweetly at Mr. Prongs.

"Wouldn't that be 'no offense, deer'?" Mr. Padfoot asked, lifting his hands to his head to form antlers. "OW!" he again cried as Mr. Moony repeated the dope slap.

"We'll work on it," Mr. Prongs agreed. "And speaking of working on it..." he took a position in the center of the room, gesturing for the others to join him. The five spirits stood apart, ready to begin the ritual. Snape began it.

"I call on the powers of water to raise this portal," Snape said. "As water is fluid and flexible, let the timestream be fluid and flexible through this portal." A soft blue glow lit up the air between them.

"I call on the powers of fire to raise this portal," Lily said. "As fire is passionate and energetic, let the timestream know our dedication to this cause." Bright red joined soft blue, and the portal began to heat.

"I call on the powers of air to raise this portal," Remus Lupin said. "As air is wise and free, let the timestream aid the wise and secure our freedom." A soft yellow glow added to the colors in the center, and the spirits' hair stood on end as lightning crackled.

"I call on the powers of the earth to raise this portal," Sirius Black said. "As earth is steadfast and unwavering, let our purpose be steadfast in this endeavor." Bright green enveloped the portal, and it seemed stronger now.

"I call on spirit, the fifth element, on magic itself to raise this portal," James Potter said. "May Merlin guide us on this endeavor." The portal glowed in white light, stabilizing.

"Alright," Mr. Prongs said. "Now we wait."

"Wait?" Mr. Padfoot said, shaking off the seriousness of the ritual. "How long do we have?"

"An hour," Lily answered. "He should be here any minute now."

The door opened, and the spirits of the Marauders and Company broke aside for a young man, dressed in black robes and bawling his eyes out as if his world had come to a premature end.

"Wait, that's not Harry," Mr. Padfoot said as he ran through the portal. "Isn't he a Death Eater?"

"Not really," Snape said, dismissively. "My godson was more of an overgrown prat, really."

"We agree on that, Professor Snape," Mr. Moony said with his quiet smile. "Will it matter?"

"I think it won't hurt, actually," Snape said. "He's seen Voldemort for what he truly is. Maybe he can do some good this time around." He turned as the door opened again. "Ah, this must be Harry now."

"YOU COMPLETE ARSE RONALD WEASLEY!" a bushy-haired witch who absolutely was NOT Harry Potter yelled at the door, slamming it behind her with a look of intense concentration on her face. Mr. Moony, who knew something about how the Room of Requirement worked, realized she was locking someone out.

"What's this?" she murmured aloud, looking at the portal, all rage at Ron forgotten. "A portal of some kind?" She drew a wand of vine wood, lifting it toward the portal as she walked toward it, oblivious to five spirits motioning her away. As she walked through, the room, sensing that the person locking the door was no longer there, opened it.

"Hermione?" a red-headed wizard said as he finally made it through the door. "Where did you go?" In true Gryffindor fashion, he charged through the portal.

"This was unforeseen," Snape admitted. "Potter? Any ideas?" Mr. Prongs was banging his head against the wall, Lily trying to comfort him.

"I don't understand!" Mr. Prongs said. "We set this up for one person! One! The Room wasn't supposed to let other people in. What happened to-"

"Harry?" a soft voice called from the entryway as another redhead walked through. "Are you there?" She, too, drew her wand before being sucked into the portal. The sound, audible only to the spirits, of Mr. Prongs' head banging against the wall resumed.

Nearly the full hour later, Mr. Prongs had a headache, Snape had a sardonic smile on his face for the first time in recent memory, and Harry Potter was still a no-show.

"Right!" Mr. Padfoot said, jumping to his feet and walking toward the portal.

"Padfoot, what on earth are you doing?" Mr. Moony asked. Padfoot grinned.

"Moony, the portal closes in two minutes, Harry's obviously not showing up, his girlfriend, two best friends and best pranking target left without him, this timeline is about to cease to exist and most importantly, whatever happens is going to be bloody hilarious. I wouldn't miss this for the world." With that, he stepped through the portal. Moony shrugged.

"He does have a point," he conceded, following him through. Lily sighed.

"Shall we then, James, Sev?" she asked, holding out both her arms. Mr. Prongs looked at her, confused, while Snape took an arm. She smiled. "Honestly, James, I just got my friend back. Do you think I'm going to choose between you two for all eternity?" She wagged her empty elbow until Mr. Prongs took it, sighing.

"I suppose it would be unfair," he conceded, "But couldn't you have picked a less-greasy friend?" Snape didn't even bother looking at him as the trio stepped together through the portal.

"Shut up, Potter," he said, before they too were sucked through.

None of them were around to see a very flat rat with a silver paw and only nine fingers make a flying leap for the portal, barely making it through before it closed.

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**Author's Note: **_The title of this fic comes from T.S. Eliot's "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock," as quoted at the top of the _Reset Button_ page on _TV Tropes. _As you may have guessed, our time-travelers are Draco Malfoy, Hermione Granger, Ron Weasley and Ginny Weasley, accompanied by the disembodied spirits of Messrs. Moony, Padfoot and Prongs (Also Wormtail!) as well as Lily Evans Potter and Severus Snape. I haven't decided if either of the two are getting a Marauder name yet, but would be happy to take suggestions. The scene above takes place immediately following the Final Battle in Deathly Hallows, and assumes canon until that moment. Updates for this fic will be as I feel like it, but hopefully no less frequently than once a month. I hope to update faster. -MB_


	2. Casting the Characters

**Disclaimer:** _Harry Potter and all associated characters belong to the twisted mind of J.K. Rowling and the people publishing her books and making her movies. No rat animagi were harmed during the creation of this fic._

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**Disturbing the Universe**

**Chapter 2: Casting the Characters  
**

Fred and George Weasley, Gryffindor Fourth-Years Extraordinaire, also known as Gred and Forge, sometimes called the Prank Lords of Gryffindor or simply the Weasley Twins, self-styled heirs to the Marauder legacy, known to the staff as merely "Them" and known to Slytherin House as "Why Me, Sweet Merlin, Why Me?" were having a mild cartography problem.

"Gred," said Forge, "The Map's gone wonky again. The second Weasley Twin crossed the red-and-gold trimmed common room to where the first Weasley Twin sat, tapping a rather old scrap of parchment with his wand.

"Maybe if we do it together,"

"So to speak, brother mine,"

"Indubitably, but if we do,"

"Then perhaps it will work normally again?" The twins nodded in agreement, brought their wands together, and spoke.

"I solemnly swear I am up to no good!" True to form, words appeared on the parchment, though without the usual map of Hogwarts' many halls to accompany them.

_Messrs. Moony, Padfoot and Prongs (Also Wormtail)_

_(With Assistance)_

_Present the Marauder's Map 2.0 (beta)_

_Mr. Prongs expresses his compliments to the Weasley Twins and apologizes for the slight delay in service._

_Mr. Moony suggests that, due to temporal flux, perhaps the Weasley Twins might display uncharacteristic patience in the hopes that, when all is said and done, a more entertaining and above all useful product might instead fall into their hands._

_Mr. Wormtail begs Mr. Moony to use smaller words, that he might understand them._

_Mr. Padfoot reminds Mr. Wormtail that he isn't supposed to be here, and anyway, we are addressing the Weasley Twins._

_Mr. Moony apologizes for his verbosity and suggests trying back in a few days, once Mr. Prongs' lovely wife and Mr. I'm Too Good For A Marauder Name have come to their senses._

_Mr. Prongs suggests that is quite enough information to hand out today and bids Messrs. Fred and George Weasley farewell, with his compliments._

With that, the Marauder's Map went blank again. Blank as well were Fred and George's faces, before they turned to each other and said, as one,

"What the devil is going on here?"

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Down in the Great Hall, to the complete bemusement and confusion of one Harry Potter, two Gryffindor second-years were yelling at each other like an old married couple.

"This is entirely your fault, Ronald Weasley!" Hermione Granger said, batting her red-headed companion over said head with one of her lighter textbooks.

"Ow! 'Mione, come on, I thought we were past all this!" Ron Weasley said, trying to block the furious witch's assault.

"Don't! You! 'Mione! Me!" she yelled, punctuating each word with a solid thwack from "The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 2." "Not an hour after the battle, and you wanted to find a broom closet!" she huffed. Ron peeked out from under his arms.

"I can't help it! I was tense and you were... well, you!" he said. Hermione's face softened momentarily, and Ron let his hands down. Then her face hardened and she raised the book again.

"And now we're... whenever we are now!" she cried. "And I'm underage again and bucktoothed and bushy-haired-"

"Finally, she admits it!" Pansy Parkinson called from the Slytherin table, to snickers. Hermione ignored them.

"And it's all your fault!" she continued. "Ooh, where is my wand?" she added, digging around her book bag. Neither she nor Ron noticed the blonde witch behind them.

"Private Granger, put down that wand right now!" the first-year bellowed. "Private Weasley, put down those hands. Sit up straight when addressing a non-commissioned officer!" Too shocked to do anything else, Ron and Hermione obeyed the orders coming from the girl wearing Ravenclaw-blue camoflague robes.

"I don't want to see any fighting among my troops, do you understand me, Privates?" the first-year continued, bashing the brim of her drill-instructor's hat (also Ravenclaw blue, with a bronze eagle adorning the front), lightly against Ron's forehead to punctuate her point.

"Yes!" Ron said, gulping. The first-year glared at him.

"Yes what, Private Weasley?" she bellowed, louder still.

"Yes, ma'am?" He guessed.

"I couldn't hear you, Private Weasley! You either, Private Granger! YES, WHAT?"

"YES, MA'AM!" they both answered, loudly. The odd Ravenclaw first-year's face broke into a slightly moony grin.

"Good. At ease, troops," she answered, dropping the transfiguration on her robes and skipping back toward the Ravenclaw table.

Next to the still-shocked Ron and Hermione, Harry Potter sat, spoon halfway to his wide-open mouth.

"What was that?" he said, as soon as he'd regained his wits.

"Luna Lovegood," Ron and Hermione answered in unison, then turned to each other and began to hug, laughing. Harry looked on, concerned.

"Are you two alright?" the Boy-Who-Lived asked his friends. They smiled, and turned back to Harry.

"Harry, we have something to tell you," Hermione said, gently.

"We're seeing each other," Ron blurted out, earning him a glare from Hermione.

"You're twelve," Harry pointed out. "And I thought you couldn't stand each other?"

"Only sometimes," Hermione groused, causing Ron to duck again. Harry rolled his eyes.

"Alright," he said, "But you guys are weird." Ron smiled at his friend, and Harry didn't quite notice the sadness behind his eyes. "Don't forget we've got detention, Ron," Harry added. "While you're making your plans to visit the broom closets, that is." Hermione rolled her eyes.

"I saw that, Private Granger!" came Luna's voice from the Ravenclaw table. Harry smiled.

"And she's even weirder than you two."

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Over at the Slytherin table, Draco Malfoy was having a very bad day. His eyes drooped with exhaustion, though it was only breakfast, and his slicked-back hair was a mess from his holding it in his hands.

"What's wrong, Draco?" Pansy Parkinson asked. He ignored her, and she soon went back to gossiping with her little group of sycophants.

It would not do to show weakness among the other Slytherins, he thought, and with that, picked up his silverware and began to eat. He wondered if he was alone, truly alone, back in this wretched time. He guessed it was the beginning of second year.

"And now we're... whenever we are now!" he heard Granger cry from across the hall. "And I'm underage again and bucktoothed and bushy-haired-"

"Finally, she admits it!" Parkinson retorted, to general snickers from the rest of the Slytherins. Draco resisted the urge to hex her across the room. There was a time when he cared what the pug-faced Harpy of Slytherin had to say, but after two years serving the Dark Lord and almost a year snogging Astoria Greengrass, he found Parkinson's voice so annoying he had to start counting lest he loose a stinging jinx her way on general principle.

So, he thought, and partitioned his mind, allowing one part to play out a fantasy which involved a Muggle ringmaster's uniform, a bullwhip and a transfigured Parkinson and leaving the rest to think about things that actually mattered.

It seems like Weasley and Granger weren't from this time either, and of course, they wouldn't go anywhere without Potter. Draco smiled inside, but didn't let it show. Hadn't he promised, after Voldemort, that if he had a second chance, he'd have chosen the winning team from the start? Now he had that chance. Everything was coming up Malfoy.

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"_Reducto!_" Ginny Weasley's voice cried out across the fields outside Hogwarts. "_Stupefy! Diffindo! Incendio! Bombarda Maxima! Confringo!"_ With each curse, a black diary flew further away from the grounds, seemingly undamaged. Ginny chased it, pouring anger and rage into each spell she cast.

_"Expluso! Vespertillo! Sectumsempra! Reducto! Reducto! REDUCTO!" _she continued, each curse growing stronger until the final reductor curse blasted a crater three feet deep into the Scottish soil. The diary of Tom Marvolo Riddle sat in its center, covered in dirt but undamaged.

"Fine," Ginny said, fighting back tears. "If I can't beat you, I can at least get rid of you this time," she added, and turned toward the castle. The book had an urgent appointment with the Room of Hidden Things, and she would hate for Tom to miss it.

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"Fine, Black, I admit my hair was indeed greasy. Now can we please shift down so I don't have to look at it?" the disembodied spirit of Severus Snape said as the group of time-traveling pulse-challenged conspirators sat on the bench behind the staff table. The wild-eyed spirit next to him shifted down.

"See, Batty, that wasn't so hard!" Mr. Padfoot said. Snape glared at him.

"If I agree to accept a stupid Marauder name, it will not be 'Batty'," Snape said.

"I agree," Lily said. "I had a great-aunt called Batty once, and I can't imagine Sev as my auntie."

"I can," Mr. Moony smirked, "But Longbottom doesn't cover boggarts until next year." Snape glared at him.

"Keep it up, Snape, and you'll be stuck with Batty," Mr. Prongs said. "And anyway, we're supposed to be checking on the damage we did."

"You guys!" squeaked Mr. Wormtail, "Some first-year is outside tearing holes in the grounds!"

"And me without my library," Mr. Moony scoffed.

"Seriously, Wormtail, it's probably nothing important," Mr. Padfoot said, looking around for something to throw at the traitorous rat. Unfortunately, this was the Great Hall, not the Room of Requirement, and couldn't find anything close at hand.

"And Harry actually looks happy!" Lily said, tugging on Mr. Prongs' sleeve. "Look, James!"

"Yes, love, but he doesn't know what's coming next," Mr. Prongs lamented.

"Sure, Prongs, but neither did we, and look how we turned out," Mr. Padfoot encouraged.

"Five disembodied spirits are probably not the path we want young Mr. Potter to tread," Snape said dryly.

"Six!" Mr. Wormtail squeaked. "There are six of us!"

"Shut up, Wormtail!" the rest of them chorused.

In front of them, Albus Dumbledore looked around as if he'd heard something, but quickly dismissed it as the onset of old age and went back to loudly slurping his pumpkin juice.

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**Author's Note: **_Well, an update came faster than originally planned, but I'm having fun. Just a little bit of establishing character for our non-Marauder __protagonists__. Thanks to Phlox Box, emcee31 and crazedreader for my first reviews on this story. I'm going to hold off on giving Lily and Snape Marauder names for a little while longer, but with the living Snape walking around, I'm going to have to - too confusing otherwise. I'm still accepting suggestions for names - no, emcee, I'm not naming them "Dough" and "Ray." I would also like something bat-related for Snape. Until next time! -MB_


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